The museum was a gift to the city from Otto C. Lightner, a Chicago publisher and collector, who had crammed two fading mansions with relics of a bygone era. Moving here because of ill health, he bought the abandoned Alcazar Hotel to house his collections in the spirit of his idol, Henry Flagler. The old hotel and adjacent casino have their own fascinating story to tell as they showcase what’s best described as a collection of collections. One of the country’s most complete repositories of 19th-century life, it’s been called the Smithsonian of the South. For connoisseurs, the major emphasis is on fine and decorative arts, with other collections of natural science, industry and anthropology. But some of the most fascinating are the oddball items from Lightner’s original amateurish museum of “hobbies:” salt and pepper shakers and trivets, candles and keys, wooden nickels and cigarette lighters.